Manufacture of sheet metal chains



(No Medial.) 7 A A 7 sneet'ssl-leet 1.

, -F. BGGE.

MANUPAGTURB OIESHEVBT METAL CHAINS. No. 376,737. "Patented Jam 24', 1888.-

(No Moden) 7.8118888-811898 .2.

, E.EGGE.-

V MANUEAGTUEE .0E SHEET METAL GEAINS. f No. 878,787. Y Patented Jan. 24,1888.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-'Sheet 3.

F. EGGB. MENUEAGTUEE 0E sEEET- METAL' CHAINS. 4180.876,737. Patented Jan. 24, 1888.

M'zessesy l (No Model.) 7 sheets-sheen 4.

E. EGGE. MANUEAGTUEE 0E SHEET METAL CHAINS. No. 376,737. Y Patented-Jan. 24, 1888.

i I l IIINl (N Moden.) 7 sheets-sheet 5.

F. 'EGGEM MANUFAGTURE 0F SHBETMBTAL CHAINS;

Patented Jan. 24, 1888..

Q uw wak NN *N m [L Sw@ N. PETERS. FhuiLlIwgmpher. Washingwn. D. C.

(No Model.) -7 Sheets-'Sheet' 6.

' E. EGGE i IMANUEAGTUEE 0E SHEET METAL CHAINS. E No. 376,737. 4 l Pa,-t,ented Jan. 24, 1888.- l

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMII 7 sheets-sheet 7;

(Eo Moldel.)

T. 136GBi MAN'UEAGTURE OE SHEET METAL CHAINS. No. 376,737.

Patented Jam'.4 2-4, .1888. F1329 i UNITED STAfrEs FREDERICK neen, or BRIDGRPCRT, CONNECTICUT, AssieNoR To THE L PATENT g()rificl-.

VSMITH 8v EGGE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME BLACE.

MANUFACTURE oFy SHEET-METAL CHAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,737, dated January 24, 1888?- Application tiled June 7. 1887. Serial No. 240,499. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK EGGE, a citi- `zen of the United States, residing at Bridgevchain from sheet or plate metal links, and

has for its object to improve on the construction shown and described in the Letters' Patent of the United States, No. 202,528, issued to me the 16th day of April, 1878, whereby a great saving of scrap is effected and the ma- "chine rendered capable of blanking and interlocking the links with continuity when sep-l arate and successive strips of metal are introduced and fed through the machine, while at A last end of the stock, so that the succeedingthe same time the link bending and manipulating devices are rendered more durable and effective. Y

With these-ends in view my present improvement consists in the'employment of certain automatic mechanism' for shearing the strip may be fed immediately against the'former strip without stopping the machine.

Furthermore, my invention vconsists in the various changes in the details of the constru'caway; Fig. 3, a side elevation with the frame of ythe press removed; Fig. 4, a plan view; Fig. 5, a section at the line v :v of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a section at the line y y 0f Fig. 4; Fig.k 7, a section at the line a z of Fig. 4; Fig. 8,*a detail plan of the die and the folding mechanism;

',Fig.l 9, a detail yend view showing the shear mechanism and dog in'their proper relative ,position to the striker, so that the latter will clear the dog; and Fig. 10 a similar view showing the head of the'dog ina vertical position with'the striker in abutment therewith.

It is not deemednecessary to enter into'any detailed description of the parts or'the fundamental principles of the machine towhich my inventionvr relates, excepting only those to. which my present invention especially appertains, and I will therefore confine the following description accordingly. l

In order that a skilled person mayunder-l stand this invention and the particular application and bearing which'it has with reference tothe yconstruction exhibited in my patent aforesaid,` I have thought best to describe my present improvement under several heads, in accordance'with the differentl stepsand the mechanism necessary to the accomplishment of the ends aimed at. y y rlhe first step necessary inthe manufacture of chains `by means 'ot' the machine described and organized in f my aforesaid patent is, the feeding of the stock from which the links are blanked. By reference'to said patentitwill be seen that the feed-rolls are on one side of the machine only, and that the stock isintroduced, primarily, between the rolls and fed forward through the machine. Now, while there although it'accomplishes the purpose for whichv it is intended, still there is oneparticular in which the feeding of the stock may be edected to a greater advantage.

It willV ,be readilyV understood that .with a` feed in the rear of the blanking mechanism there is necessarily quitea waste .of stock,

which is about equal to the distance between VTis nothing radically wrong with this feed, and` 'y Sor the feed and the. blanking mechanism, since cording to the size of th'efmachine k'and-.the v disposition of the rolls and blanking mechanism. In my present improvement I have ob-I t viated this waste and established a continuity of the feeding 'of the stock and blanking of the links, as follows: I provide a pair of' feed-rolls,

'A A', beyond the blanking mechanism,pre'-` cisely similar in operation to theA rolls B1B', 100K* which'latter areshown and described in myv said patent. The upper roll, A, is journaled in its descent will strike against the head M in fixed bearings in the standards C, which extend upward from the bed-plate D, and the lower'roll, A', is journaled in ablock, E,which is capable of a limited vertical movement. A coil-spring, F, between the block E and the bed D serves to keep the block in its normal position and bring the rolls A A' into operation, while an ordinary cam-lever, G, pivoted to thebed and adapted to act against a pin, H, projecting downward from the block, is used to force the inner end of the latter downward against the resiliency of the spring F, and thereby throw the rolls A A apart, so

that they will have no effect, all of which will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 6. When the extreme end of the stock has been fed beyond the rolls B B', allV that part of the stock which could not be blanked, owing to the stopping ofthe feed, has been thrown into the scrap, as hereinbefore set forth; but with my present improvement as soon as the rolls B B have ceased to feed the material the rolls A A', which have been out of operation hitherto, are thrown into their normal position, thereby gripping the scrap and pulling the same along until all the stock has passed beneath the blanking mechanism, the latter being continually in operation in the meantime.

To insure the continuous blanking and interlooping of the links-or, in other words, in order that the last link blanked from the preceding strip may be so near the extreme edge of the latter that the next action ofthe cutting-punch will blank a link entirely out of the stock of the succeeding strip-LI provide mechanism which shall automatically determine the length of stock at the last end of the strip necessary to enable the punch to cut the blanks continuously from successive strips without stopping the machine, which mechanism is as follows: f

To zthe bedplate D, in the immediate rear of the rolls B B', is secured a shear-block, I, and pivoted to the bed-plate, immediately above this block and in such manner as to have a swinging movement across the edge of the same, is a shear-bar, J.

K is a dog pivoted to the side of the bar J, near the free end thereof, and having'a tail, L, adapted to be held in an elevated position by the strip of stock from which the chain is blanked, as will be presently more fully set forth. 4

The head M of this dog projects across the top of the bar J, so that when the tail is al lowed to drop said head will thereby be carried to a vertical position and in abutment with the bar, whereby any force exerted down-l wardly against said head will cause the bar to be depressed.

N is a striker projecting down from the plun ger O, which latter is adapted to reciprocate vertically within a frame, P, as is shown and described in my patent aforesaid, and as is common in every ordinary press. Thisstriker the shear-block.

when the latter is in its vertical position, and thereby force the shear-bar J downward; but whensaid head is at an angle toa perpendicular the striker will completely clear the dog,

all of which will be apparent by reference to Figs. 2, 4, 6, 9, and 10. As before stated, the tail L ofthe dog is held in an elevated position by the stock itself, and therefore when the extreme rear end of the latter has been fed beyond this tail the dog will swing so as to bring the head thereof in a vertical position, this of course being brought about directly by the dropping ofthetail. Now when the striker N descends it will'force the bar J downward, and thereby shear the stock, provided that the latter' Vdoes not happen to be of the exactlength required, which is well nigh impossible.

lt will be readily seen that as the striker is secured to the plunger the shearing is synchronal with the blanking, and takes place,there fore, immediately after one of theintermittent feeding impulses. Accordingly, if the feeding impulse which carries the last end of the stock from under the tail L of the dog also carries the said end to a point in the same vertical plane with the cutting-edge of the shear-block I and no farther, then the bar J, when depressed, will not shear `the stock, since the latter is of the desired length, and this is determined by the distance between the blanking mechanism and the outside or cutting edge of Therefore, in respect to the feeding, the operation of the machine in accordance with my present improvement is as follows: The rolls B B feed the strip of stock through the machine. When the stock allows the tail ofthe dog to drop, the shearing takes place and the said rolls continue to feed the stock until the latter haspassedwithout their grasp. The rolls A A' are thrown into operative engagement with the scrap just before the feed-rolls B B' lose their grip on the stock, so that it will be readily understood that the feed is continuous, and therefore a suceeeding rstrip of stock may be butted against the rear edge of the strip already inthe machine after t-he automatic stop mechanism here' inafter explained has caused the operative parts of the machine to remain at rest.

The stop mechanism is precisely like that shown and described in my patent before mentioned, with the exception of the means which operates said mechanism automatically.

Q is the shouldered rod; R, the toothed spring tripping arln or latch pivoted at its rear end to the slide or carrier bar S; T, the vibrating lever, and U the bent arm, underneath which the rod R hooks, all of the same construction, and operating to stop the ma chine should any obstacle-such as an imperfect link or dirt or any other foreign clogging matter interfere with the free forward movement of thel slide or carrier-by disconnecting the `clutch mechanism from the driving-shaft in precisely the same manner as that set forth in my said patent. In my present improve- IIS IZO

ment IY have gone a step farther in regard to this stop mechanism, since I am now enabled to `automatically stop the machineimmediately prior to the last blanking from a strip of stock; or, in other words, whenV the rear end of one strip has been fed to the point where, ifthe forward edge ofthe second strip were batted against said rear end, the blankingpunch would cut the link from the first strip and at the same time'puneh out the link-eyes from the second strip at the proper distance from theforward edge thereof. I provide a rod, V, which extends through the bed-plate, so as to have a free lengthwise sliding movement therein. To the front extremity of this rod is secured a block, W, which slides in bearings within the bed in a directionparallel to that ofthe rod'V. At the rear e-nd of the said lrod is fastened a toc, X, and between said toe and the rear of the ted is a coil-spring, C', around the rod.

- Y is a stop pivoted at one end within one of the die-caps Z in such manner that it'is in the same horizontal rplane with the strip of stock as the latter lies on the die plate, while t-he other end extends up to that point where the rear edge of the strip should relnain imme-A diately prior to the blanking of the last link therefrom; Against this stop the sliding block XV abuts on account of the force of the spring C' exerted against the toeX, and therefore it' there is nothing behind the stop lthe spring-actuated block W will` throw said stop backward; but the stock itself, being in the same horizontal plane with this stop, will afford an obstacle to any such forced movement ofthe latter. Vhen the strip l'of stock is fed along by the rolls A Af so t-hat'the rear end thereof passes beyond the stop Y, the latter will be thrown rearward behind the said end by the block WV, and the toe X will be simultaneously driven against the shouldered rod Q., thereby forcing the latterfrom its engagement with the arm U, and disconnecting the driving-shaft from the motive power, as hereinbefore set forth, andas describedin my patcnt aforesaid. Thus it will be seen that when the strip has been fed to the proper extent preparatory to. the introduction of a second strip the machine comes automatically to a dead stop.

The manner of putting a succeeding'` strip in proper position is exceeding simple, it being necessary only to separate the rolls B B', and, placing the strip between them, to bring the `forward end thereof into abutment with the rear edge of the precedingstrip,when said rolls are thrown into operative ,positionand the several parts are in proper relative position for the performance of their further funetions. I provide the arm Uwith a yoke, D', through which they rod Qprojects, in order g .l that the latter may not become displaced, and to this rod is loosely yconnected a lever, E', by

means of'which the operator may throw the rod into engagement with the arm U. To start the machine, the rod Q is forced downward'either by hand or by any suitable means?-A such as a treadle-until the clutch mechanism operated by this rod has connectedthe 'driv-l The leverA ing-shaft with the motive power. E' is now operatcdto throw the shouldered machine readyyfor use. .The lever E' is bent and 'extended around to the front of the machine, as shown in dotted lines at Fig. 4, merely for the accommodation of the operator, since the latter is thereby enabled to' stop or start the machine instantly without going around to the rear of thelatter.y

Thenext step inmy improvement has reference to the compressing and shaping'of the partially-bentlinks, and-the following descrip-r` tion has especial reference thereto. Y

In my patentbcfore mentioned thepartiallyf-v ibent links were pressed together bymeansfof lpart of the rod underneath the arm U, and the 1 yrod is thereby locked in this position and the a compressor-bar, L, operating in connection with a supporting block or anvil, L','while the upsetting of the links, by compressing or slightly crushing them endwise to Iinish themy In my present improvement I provide two compressor-bars, F', v'both ot' which are causedl to slide in waysin the bed-plate D by means of vertical 'vibrating levers G',which latter are operated b v the'plung'er O'in the same man-.i`

ner precisely as that shown and described ofv the movable compressor-block in said patent.y

Instead of asingle end compressor-lever, I now usetwo of such levers,H,which are pivoted one on each of the bars F'. The inner ends of ,these levers are billhooked, and adapted to snugly encompass the headl of the link. Tappets l' are pivoted to the bed at the front and rear thereof,-respectivelykand are adapted by a swinging ymovement inthe di-.

rection indicated by the arrow in Fig.y 2 to strike the levers H'.

,J are strikers, one only being shown, whichL 1roV izo

are secured to the plunger at opposite sides thereof and in the same vertical plane with the tappets. As the plunger descends, the strikers will come in contact with t-he tappets and cause' them toswingrin the direction ,indicatedby' the arrow,.as set forth. The operation of the compressor-levers bythe tappets immediately follows the effective action ofthe compressorbars. symmetrical formation ofthe loop or closed In order. to insure the regular'and end of the bentlink, I provide an anvil-pin, u .l

K', conformed in crosssection tothe general shape of the loop and depending from a gravity-frame, L'.' This frame has two guide-rods,

M', which reciprocate in proper bearings in the bed, so as to establish a steady movement to said frame. Only one of these guide-rods appears in the drawings, (see Fig. 5,) the other being in the immediate rear thereof. Projecting upward from the frame L isapin, N', having at its upper end a shoulder, O', and depending from the plunger O is a lifting-rod, P', having at its lower end a shoulder, Q', which extends underneath the shoulder O'. When the plunger descends, the pin K' will drop by gravity within the loop end of one ofthe partially-bent links, and on the upward stroke of the plunger the said pin will be lifted out of the said loop.

In order that the several movements described of the compressor-bars, compressor levers, and anvil-pin may be more fully understood and their object made clear, I will now -proceed to describe their functions with relation to each other, and more particularly with reference to the effect which they have on the formation of the link. As the plunger descends, the anvil-pin willenter the loop end of the link and the compressor-bars will be forced against the sides of the link, thereby compressing the latter together and giving the proper shape to theinner part of the loop around the anvil-pin. The compressor-levers H', having been carried inward toward each other by the action of the bars F', are in proper position to exercise their function, and accordingly the tappets I' are now thrown against the levers H by the strikers J', as hereinbefore set forth,

thereby forcing said levers firmly against the stock at the end of the loop and causing the latter to assume the proper rounding shape. At the upward stroke of the plunger the tappets swing back to their normal position, the compressor bars and levers are withdrawn, the

Y anvil-pin is raised out of the loop, and the link thus completed is fed forward, and the succeeding partially-completed link is brought into the lposition necessaryy for the repetition of the opel ations j ust described.

The final step in this improvement relates to the feeding, or, perhaps, more properly, the pulling, of the completed chain through the machine. In my aforsaid patent this was accomplished by means of an intermittently-revolving sprocket-wheel whose teeth entered the triangular-shaped eyes in the side of the links; but it is apparent that the force exerted by said teeth is not properly applied, Vsince the strain comes on the stock at one side only of the loop, and accordinglyit is possible that the links might thereby lose their symmetrical shape and the chain thus formed withstand a less tensile strain than the metal would warrant. I provide a sprocket-wheel, It', precisel y like the one shown and described in said patent, but mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings C S', which project upward from lthe bed-plate D, so that it will be seen that the line of movement of said sprocket is in a vertical and not in a horizontal plane.

T is the ratchet-wheel rigidly secured on the said shaft, and U the pawl projecting downwardly from the plunger and adapted to engage with the ratchet-wheel and thereby operate the sprocket, as will be evident by reference to Fig. 3. The teeth of the sprocket enter between the sides of the links within the loop and exert' a force directly against the compressed ends of the links, and in a direction coincident with the horizontal axis of the chain, so that it will be understood that the action of said sprocket constitutes a. perfect test of the tensile strength of the chain, said test being of course measured by the resistance offered to the operation of the sprocket.

I claim as of my own invention-- 1. In a chain-manufacturing machine, the combination, with the strip-feeding rolls at the rear of the blanking mechanism, of similar rolls located beyond said mechanism, whereby all the stock is fed through the machine, substantially as set forth.

2. As an improvement in the art of making chain from sheet metal by machinery, the combination, with the feeding devices, of mechanism adapted to automatically shear the strip of stock to a predetermined length, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the feeding-rolls in the rear of the blanking mechanism, of similar rolls journaled beyond the said mechanism and adapted to grasp the strip of stock after it has leftthe back rolls, whereby a continuity of feed throughout the entire length of the strip is obtained, substantially as set forth.

4. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain by machinery from sheet metal, the combination, with the primary feeding devices, of shearing mechanism sup.

ported out of operation by the stock itself and adapted to operate when the latter has been carried from beneath it, substantially as set forth and specified.

5. The combination, with the rear feedingrolls, of a shear-block secured to the bed-plate, y

a pivoted bar adapted to shear across the edge of said block, a dog pivoted to the outside of said bar and adapted to be held in an elevated position by the stock itself during the feeding of the latter, and a striker depending from the plunger and operating to abut against the head of the dog when the latter has swung to a vertical position, whereby the bar is driven against the stock to shear the same, substantial] y asshown and set forth.

6. In combination with the shear-bar andthe feeding device, the dog pivotally attached to said bar and adapted to automatically regulate the operation of the latter through the medium of the strip of stock itself, substantially as set forth.

7. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by machinery, the combination, with the means for connecting and disconnecting the driving-shaft with the motive power, of mechanism whose effective operation is dependent on the feeding of ICO ' the strip of stock forautomatically stopping` the machine, substantially as set forth.

8. As an improvement in the art of manufacturing chain from sheet metal by machinery, the mechanism for automatically stopping the machine preparatory to the blanking of the last link from the stock, the samek consisting o f means, as a stop, withheld from operation by the edge of the strip of stock, in combination with -the mechanism for disconnecting the driving-shaft from the motive power, substan-y tially as setforth. l 9. The combination, with the shear-block secured to the bed-plate at a predetermined distance from the blanking mechanism, of the bar pivoted to the bed and adapted to shear across the cuttinge'dge of said block. a dog pivoted to said bar. and adapted to effect the operation of the latter when the rear edge of the stock has been carried beyond said dog, and the striker depending from the plunger and adapted to depress the bar through the'- medium of the interposed dog, substantially ing loosely throughthe bed and having at'- tached to its rear end a toe and at its front end a block arranged to slide in ways in the bed, of a-eoil-spring around said rod between saidv toe and bed, a stop againstwhich said block impinges, pivoted to the bed in the same horizontal plane with the strip of stock from which thelinks are blanked, and the mechanism which disconnects the motive power from the driving-shaft, substantially as described.

12. The combination,with the driving-shaft, the motive power,and a throw-off lever adapted to disconnect said shaft and power, of a springactuated tripper one end of which is in close proximity to said throw-off,the other end being Withheld against the resiliency of the spring by contact with the strip of stock, said tripper adapted when released bythe stock to operate the throw-oft' lever and thereby stop the ma chine, substantially as set forth.

13. As an improvement in the art of manuV` facturing sheet-metal chain'by machinery, the

combination, with the feeding devices and mechanism for shearing the rear edge of the stock at a predetermined distance from the blanking mechanism, of means controlled by said stock for stopping the machine immedivaver/ev p 5 ately prior to the blanking of thelast link at the end of the strip, substantially asset forth. v y 4 the bed-plate, the compressor-levers pivoted 6K5 to said bars andV bill-hooked at theirinner eX- fr ftremities, and means for forcing .said levers against the loop end of the link', substantially as shown and described.

15. The bill-hooked compressor-levers car- 7o ried by the compressor-bars, in combination with the tappets and the strikers depending from the plunger, substantially as set forth.

16. The bill-hooked compressor-levers pivoted to the compressor-bars and adapted wheny 75 in operative position to meet on opposite sides ofthe loop end of thev link, in combination with the anvil-pin projected within the loop,

substantially as and yfor the pu rposedescribed.

17. The combination, with the compressor'- 8o bars, of the anvil-pin projected-within the loop end of the chain, as and for the 'purpose set forth.V

` 18. As an improved means for pulling or feeding chain made by machinery, a sprocket 85 wheel mounted on a shaft journaled in bearingsprojectingfrom the bed-plate, the teeth v of said wheel adapted to enter between the sides of the link within the loop end thereof and against the end ofthe preceding link, 9o

whereby all the strain is exerted in a line co incident with the horizontal axis of the chain, substantially asset forth. f i

19. In the art of manufacturing sheetimetal chain by machinery, the method hereinde 95' scribed of blanking consecutive links from independent and separate stripssof stock, the' same consisting in shearing the rear end of the preceding strip ata predetermined distance from the blanking mechanism, feeding rool the strip so sheared, and butting the forward edge of the succeeding strip against ,therear f edge of the aforesaid strip immediately prior j to the blanking of the last link from thelatter, whereby at the next operation of the :[05y

blanking mechanism the last link 'will be Cut from the first strip and the eyes of the next link .will be punched out from the succeeding strip at .the properdistance from the forward edge thereof, substantially as andfor thepurfV 11o V l Y* posespecitied.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presenceof two'witnesses.

Witnesses:

S. H. HUBBARD, S. S. WILLrAMsoN.

FREDERICK- EGGE. y 

